A BLACKBURN man who drove his car at a woman walking on the pavement was today jailed for 12 years after being convicted of attempted murder.

Preston Crown Court heard how Lynn Poole was thrown into the air when the car ploughed into her. The smash left her with a fractured her spine and broke her neck.

Several months on from the attack Mrs Poole still suffers from disability as a result of the crash.

Judge Edward Slinger described 24-year-old Mohammed Afzal as a dangerous, manipulative and devious man, and said the public had to be protected from him. He also said Afzal, who had previous convictions for violence, was fortunate not to be facing two counts of murder.

Afzal, of Woodfold Place, Blackburn, was found guilty on a 10-2 majority verdict by a jury. He was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and a charge of dangerous driving and was banned from driving for 10 years.

Co-defendant Arif Gorji, aged 22, of Granville Road, Blackburn, was cleared of offering money for charges against Afzal to be dropped. He was awarded defence costs. The incident happened on the evening of June 22 last year when Mrs Poole and a 16-year-old girl were walking towards Montague Street around 7pm.

The prosecution claimed the car, a blue Vauxhall Cavalier, slowed down as it passed the two and that Afzal spat at them through the open driver's window. The car then went down the road, turned round and headed back towards them.

Bob Elias, prosecuting, said the girl who was known to the men and in a relationship with Afzal, managed to jump out of the way but Mrs Poole was struck by the vehicle. She hit a lamp-post before falling back to the ground. She also felt her teeth break as her face hit the road, he added.

Mr Elias went on: "She heard the girl screaming hysterically as the car drove off."

A witness said that in his opinion the car was deliberately driven at her. Mr Elias continued: "This was no accident. This was a violent assault using a car as a weapon."

It was also alleged that the girl later received a telephone call from Gorji asking if she was going to press charges and offering her four or five thousand pounds. He denied making the call and also refuted Afzal's claim that he had been driving the car. The jury agreed with his case.

Nick Kennedy, for Afzal, had said there was no planning or premeditation, and it was not a case of preconceived attempted murder.